Sunanda case 'back at square one' after report finds NO poison in her body

Investigators now plan to review the death of Sunanda Pushkar from the start

The Sunanda Pushkar death case seems to be back at square one, with her viscera report suggesting no sign of poison or anti-anxiety drugs in the body - an outcome that is contradictory to the post-mortem report.

The two reports have further confused the investigators, who are now planning to review the case from the beginning.

Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi, however, clarified on Monday that no FIR would be lodged in the matter.

According to a senior police official, the recent viscera report suggested there was no poison in Sunanda's body, while the post-mortem report said she had died because of drug poisoning.

"Such contradictions are very rare but not surprising. Such a contradiction was also found during the Jessica Lal murder case. It depends on court now," the police official said.

The police are also planning to take the help of doctors and forensic experts to understand why the viscera and post-mortem reports were contradictory.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police chief said inquest would continue in the case.

"From the circumstantial evidence collected so far and from the statement of witnesses, there is no reason for us to proceed in any other fashion. So we are carrying on our inquiries under Section 174 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC)," Bassi said.

Inquest proceedings under Section 174 CrPC were initiated in the Sunanda case according to which a sub-divisional magistrate inquires into the death of a woman if she dies within seven years of her marriage.

In this case, on January 21, an SDM had directed the Delhi Police to investigate the murder or suicide angle in the case after the autopsy report cited the death as sudden and unnatural while the cause of death was mentioned as poisoning.

The police can file an FIR in this case if it finds any foul play but until then the inquiry will go on under Section 174 CrPC.

Fifty-two-year-old Sunanda, the wife of junior Human Resource Development minister Shashi Tharoor, was found dead in a five-star hotel in South Delhi on the night of January 17, a day after her Twitter spat with Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar over an alleged affair with the former's husband.

The dispute had become a cross-border triangle and ended with a joint statement from the Tharoor couple saying that they were "happily married".